Toni Price Photography

Wow! It’s January 8th of 2012! Shew, I’d say it’s about time Kev & I wrapped up the Christmas festivities, don’t ya think!?

Our last family Christmas was a late Italian lunch yesterday We opted for a different kind of “carbed up.” Instead of mashed potatoes, noodles, rolls, etc… we went with baked spaghetti, fettuccine and salad. You can do that when you celebrate Christmas in January

Anyway, I’ve been working my life away at Victoria’s Secret this year for Holiday help. I haven’t found much time to keep up with posting of photos and such. I don’t go into work for another 3 hours today, so I thought this as the perfect time to update the ole blog! I’m done there this Friday, which will open up my schedule to blog some of the sessions I didn’t get a chance to LAST YEAR!

I’ve always loved celebrating everything late. Belated Bday cards are my favorite!! What’s better than getting to celebrate even AFTER the initial par-tay!? That’s what I’m talking about!! That’s why celebrating Christmas yesterday on Jan. 7th was so fun! Better late than never

One last tid-bit. Sorry for allllllll the photos Most people posted as time went on. Not me. No, I like to 1. be original and do everything possible against the grain and 2. complicate things by waiting until the last minute. What’s not fun about that?

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Decorating the tree is one of my MOST FAVORITE parts of Christmas!! Lets start there…

Kev calls our angel a harlot. hahaha!

After the “official” tree topper photo, Kev had to actually put the angel on!! The tree was too tall for me.

We went with a leopard inspired tree this year. All gold and black bow accents! LOVED it!

Even Jaxon helped us decorate… well actually he just broke ornaments with his tail :/

So every year we have been married Kev and I have bought a funny ornament. This year we bought a scuba diving bumble bee.
The real reason for the season Jesus’ birth!
2 very important details for our Christmas… fishing Santa and Gold Canyon candles. Gold Canyon people. They are the BEST!
I made this blanket for Kev back in ’05. It’s so fun to get it out each year and snuggle up!
LOVE this man!
Not much says Christmas season more than Christmas coffee
For the past 3 years, one of my best friend’s, Lora and I, bake for hours on Christmas Eve eve.
And this cute pup waits for a drop of ANYTHING! haha
Apples, lots of cream cheese and sugar… yum.
The best part of the day… sugar cookies. Every year, Sarah (Lora’s mom) has to help us decorate because we are TIRED by the end of the night! It’s SO much fun to decorate with the both of them Sometimes we get our hubby’s help too
Starting out, I decorated like 7 cookies using these snowflake sprinkles! I loved them!!
All of our yummy treats!!
If you can’t tell… I had had 3 hours of sleep in 48 hours at that point.
CHRISTMAS DAY!!!
My family likes throwing up the deuces.
We had a rockin’ Christmas PAR-TAY!!! Sooooooooooo much FUN!
And here is our Christmas from yesterday…
So cute!
My beautiful nieces!! <3
I think this last photo sums up our Christmas Season this year. Fun! Happy! CRAZY!!
MERRRRRY (Belated) CHRISTMAS!! <3

I have to say, I’ve had a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year. I’m not sure what my reasoning is. The past year went by so incredibly fast I feel like I’m still supposed to be in my bathing suit laying out with my friend Melanie talking about her love life. I’m not ready for this cold, I’m NOT ready to be all bundled up, and I’m certainly NOT ready for $300 heat bills. I know I sound like a Grinch, and “ba-humbug” isn’t usually in my vocab, but this year all I can think of is the hassle of putting up decorations just to take them down a few weeks later.

Well, I was on my way to work the other day and I thought, “What the heck, Toni? What is your deal!? You need an attitude adjustment!” (What? You don’t talk to yourself?) So… that’s EXACTLY what I did. Right there. Changed my attitude I called up my momma and asked her when they were getting a tree and that she HAD to call me before she decorated!! So, last night I brought over the egg nog (actually, it was Kev’s egg nog. Shhh… don’t tell), we popped in some Christmas tunes, and pulled out totes and totes of decorations!!

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So last year for my brother’s basketball dinner, mom bought these beautiful red ornaments to decorate with. Of course Noah didn’t remember them, but we did! So, what better to decorate the tree with than brand new ornaments!!

If ever you wonder where I get my humor from…. yep… right here!
hahaha! I took a photo of my brother every time he walked in the door. What? I had to practice just in case I turn paparazzi.
SO EXCITED for our Christmas Cards this year
My mom likes every photo as close up as possible. I took the first photo on the left, and she was like, “eh. I don’t think it’s in focus.” I knew what her mom code was saying. So I zoomed in, took the second one and she responded with a, “oh, now that’s beautiful!!” LOVE HER!
I was too impatient to wait until mom was finished sweeping, hince the dyson in the left hand corner! haha

YAY! So happy to FINALLY be in the Christmas Spirit! Yep, sitting here jamming out to “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” and I do… I wish you a Merry Christmas! Now I’m totally stoked to decorate our tree tomorrow night!!

If anyone comes up with an invention that puts laundry away, I will be the first to buy it! Although, I would have to rummage through my pile to find something cute to wear when I purchase it…

Change: to become different. Change is inevitable.

My business has changed so much over the past few years. I remember my first wedding like it was yesterday. I remember my first paying client. I remember receiving my first thank you card! I also remember how hard it’s been to sustain my business. I remember filing taxes that first year (ugh, it’s still terrible). I remember feeling like the biggest failure on the planet earth. And in the next breath feeling like I’ve achieved some sort of success.

This business has taken my life on more up and downs than I EVER thought imaginable.

These ups and downs are usually reactions to change, and I’m about to hop back onto the roller coaster. More change is coming. However this time around, I won’t be so scared going down that monster hill. Oh, I’ll still get the butterflies in my stomach, but this time, I’ll enjoy the wind in my hair and the laughter that comes from riding the same ride over and over. This time, I’m embracing the change.

So you’re probably wondering what the heck is changing, and why I’m rambling about roller coasters

As of January 1st, 2012… Toni Price Photography will NO LONGER be photographing families, newborns, babies or kids.

Why the change? I heard someone once say, “If you do everything, you’ll never be known for something.” So true.

If I’ve ever been anything, it’s generally brutally honest. My passion is not families, and it’s definitely not screaming two year-olds (HA!).  I LOVE getting to know those clients, but that type of art is not my passion. My passion, the thing I can see myself doing for the next ten years is weddings. I love everything about them! I love the details that have been thought out for the past 10 months. I love the bride’s dress. I love the first sight session, where the bride and groom get a moment to themselves, amongst the chaos, where they are grounded and reminded of what the day is really about… their love for each other. I love the cakes they pick out, and the father/daughter dance. I generally get a little misty during that part of the reception. I love the laughter shared by family and friends as they cut loose on the dance floor. I especially love the hugs I get from brides and grooms thanking me for a great day, while I thank them back, and we build this genuine respect for the other.

My other passion is seniors. LOVE THEM! I love their personalities, I love laughing with them and having fun. I enjoy getting to know them, and hearing about their future plans for life. So many of my seniors are FB friends of mine, and I like checking in on them as they continue in life. Sorta makes me feel old at times, but that’s okay The only thing that is changing in my senior business is that I will ONLY book seniors from June-October. No fear though, if you don’t book in those four months, I have some AWESOOOOOOME photographer friends I’d LOVE to refer you to!!

So what does this mean for my current family/kid clients? It means this, I’m going to miss you dearly! I’ve LOOOOVED getting to know each of your families, and seeing your kids grow each year! I love the hugs I get from your kids, and the hands I’ve gotten to hold as they walk me to the next location And while it may be hard to believe, I’m also going to miss the nose picking, the minor break-downs, and the sibling fights. I always find myself chuckling behind the lens HOWEVER, no fear, I also have some AWESOOOOOOOOME family/kid photographer friends to refer you to too!!

You know me, I’m as corny as they get, so I can’t completely sever ties! I’ll still hold my annual family special each October!

So listen, I’ve already had a few of my families hear the rumor, which it wasn’t a rumor lol, and they’ve already expressed their disappointment. I HATE disappointing people, so until January 1st, my calendar is open If you’ve been wanting a fun/creative family session for a while now and just haven’t booked, shoot me an email, I’d LOVE to photograph your family!!  I already have my first November taker, so don’t waste time in contacting me

I’m SO excited for the changes that are coming! Which of course will mean a new website and logo. But I promise, after this… I’m done with the changes for a while!!

Alrighty, here are my awesome photographer friends who 100% ROCK at what they do! I’m in continual awe over their work, you won’t be disappointed at all! I have asked all of them for their permission to put their info on here So please, check ‘em out!!

Families: Marchelle Mosley (Marchelle shot Kev & I’s photos last year. I hold a pretty high standard if you can imagine, and let me say I was MORE than thrilled with our photos!!)
FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marchelle-Mosley-Photography/49980792571
Website: http://www.marchellemosleyphotography.com/

Newborns: Kimberly Reid (She is like a newborn whisperer… AH-MAZING work!!)
FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kimberly-Reid-Photography/303269849616
Website: http://kimberlyreidphoto.com/

Kids: Portraits By Lori (Lori does awesome studio work, and awesome outside work! You WON’T be disappointed!)
FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Portraits-by-Lori/46472429794

Seniors: Ashleigh Wheeler (If you want a photo to showcase your individuality, hit her up! She ROCKS!!)
FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ashleigh-Wheeler-Photography/149899651734598
Website: http://www.ashleighwheelerphotography.com/

And of course, a photo of my two passions, and my most current work…

I like the outdoors. I do. But I wouldn’t classify myself as an “outdoors(wo)man.” I enjoy the outdoors when every criteria is met. Yes, a checklist of sorts.

1. It’s not humid.
2. There are limited bugs.
3. I can wear shorts and not freeze.
4. I can wear jeans and not sweat.
5. I’m not going to get dirty.
6. I’m not going to slip down any slope.
7. I’ll stay dry.
8. I won’t die.

Frans Park. It met most of my expectations. I did walk into a few spider webs, but I wasn’t swatting bugs away. Check. I did have to take off my sweater at the end, but I was okay with that. I was wearing a sweater. Check. I stayed dry. Check. I lived to tell about. Double, triple check!

Jaxon got to come, which made the trip even better!

And check out that wildflower bed. It was beautiful!

One thing I do love about being out in the woods is that you never quite know what you will stumble upon. Take this table for instance. It looked like someone had taken a bite out of. Strange! And check out these humungo puff ball mushrooms! 
The first bench we came to, I begged for rest! (Which is actually the 1/2 eaten bench). and ps. I only asked to stop to rest, because Jaxon asked me to…

The benches were 1/2 eaten too! What is going on here!? At this point, I was worried point #8 may not come to pass.
I just LOOOOOVE him!!
Again, I was a little worried about point #8 . I made Kev take the camera because I was sure I was going to get wet (#7). I assume the worst when I’m outdoors. FYI: I made it Boo-yah!
Jack-o was exhausted! I asked Kev not to take my photo since my tongue was hanging out too.

All my ridiculous stipulations, and my husband still likes to hike with me. I got me a good one!